In the Western Cape, the ANC Appears Destined to Lose Its Formal Opposition Status.

Ebrahim Rasool held the position of premier of the Western Cape for the ANC from 2005 to 2008, when Lynne Brown barely won the position.

If the province’s early election results continue in this direction, the African National Congress (ANC) can bid adieu to its position as the official opposition to the Democratic Alliance (DA) in the Western Cape legislature.

20.87% of polling districts (328 out of 1,572) had results as of Thursday morning at 11 AM. The Patriotic Alliance is in third place with 31,243 votes, ahead of the Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF) in fourth place with 9,754, despite the ANC being in second place with 48,291 votes, trailing the DA with 127,433 votes.

The African National Congress (ANC) is currently far below its 2014 total of 32.89% and its 2019 total of 28.63% (589,055) votes, but there is still some way to go before the vote can be declared firmly.

Anc, Say Goodbye to Western Cape

The DA has been declared the early winner by eNCA’s election analyst Wayne Sussman, thus it appears that the ANC’s dreams of regaining the Western Cape have been shattered. The provincial newcomers, the PA, are now gaining significant traction (at 12.6%), while first-time candidates, Cape Coloured Congress, are currently sitting at 2.56%.

“In the Western Cape, the Democratic Alliance will continue to hold a majority, and Premier Alan Winde will govern that province for the ensuing five years. At nine in the morning on Thursday, Sussman declared, “They have won an absolute majority and will govern alone.”

Ebrahim Rasool held the position of premier of the Western Cape for the ANC from 2005 to 2008, when Lynne Brown barely won the position.

Al Jama-ah Criminally Getting Nearer

It’s interesting to see that Al Jama-ah has surpassed its 2019 total voter share of 0.86%, sitting at 1.46% today. Ganief Hendricks, the leader of the Muslim party, had earlier forecast that the party would do well in this year’s elections, forecasting ten seats nationwide.

Additionally, the party projected an increase by stealing Muslim voters from the DA.

Political analyst Melanie Verwoerd said in March of this year, speaking to The South African, that the Democratic Alliance’s position on the Israel-Palestine conflict may cause them to lose the Muslim vote on May 29. If this happens, Al Jama-ah stands to benefit greatly.

Verwoerd claims that as Muslims make up 6.6% of the province’s total population in the Western Cape, other political parties, especially Al Jama-ah, may be able to win over Muslim voters who could have supported the DA. Furthermore, according to the Project on Middle East Political Science, 2% of South Africa’s population is Muslim. How many of those are registered voters is unknown.

“That [DA’s support for Israel] creates openings for other parties; Al Jama-ah and the ANC will most likely receive some votes each. Additionally, the other parties,” Verwoerd stated.